The Voice In My Head
by Rimba
Summary: I stared up at him, with his frightening amber eyes boring into mine, and thought he was only my father. He couldn't do anything to me. How wrong I was. I would soon learn the power of the Place of No Stars..' This is Tigerstar's REAL story of his 'evil.'


**Isn't it weird how Tigerstar and his father both had the surname 'claw'?**

**Fan-Fic: **_**The Voice in My Head**_

**Chapter: One**

**---**

I had been only a kit at the time, a harmless tabby kit. I wanted to be the best of them all, just like all the kits. My father Thistleclaw, my mother –blank-. **(I don't really know, so if you do kindly tell me. Thanks!) **Both were strong, loyal warriors. My nursery friends were Goldenkit, Lionkit, Redkit, and Darkkit. Darkkit was the youngest of us, then Redkit, then Lionkit, Goldenkit, and then me. I was proud I was the oldest. Of course, my friends had siblings, but I didn't really care for them.

"Tigerkit!" hissed Goldenkit, poking me in the ribs as I tried to sleep. With a squeaky growl, I dug deeper into my mother's winter fur. "Tigerkit!" she protested further.

"What?" I snapped, sitting up, my eyes bleary. I could see the moon: almost full, and the day of the Gathering I would be exactly one moon from being an apprentice.

"Come look outside. My mother is out there. It's so pretty." The pale ginger she-kit looked really excited, so with a huff, I stood up and toddled outside.

Goldenkit was right. It was _beautiful_—breathtaking, even. A thin layer of snow lay across the camp, with flakes still floating down. Stars speckled the sky and the moon shone brightly. Silverpelt's gray wisps stood out from the black night. "Wow!" I gasped.

Thistleclaw had just returned from the midnight patrol and stalked over to us. "Well, little ones, isn't it a little late to be up stargazing?" he meowed.

Speckletail, then younger, rolled her eyes. "Oh, Thistleclaw. Let them be. It's a beautiful night; haven't you noticed?" My tabby father looked up, his amber eyes reflecting the stars.

"Ah," he said.

"But you're right. It is a little late for you two to be up. Come along, Goldenkit. You too, Tigerkit," Speckletail mewed, pulling her kit closer with her tail.

"It's fine, Speckletail, I want to speak to him." Thistleclaw gave her a dark look, and she nodded, hurrying out of the cold.

"You better watch your back, kit," he hissed menacingly, lowering his head to my level. "There are a lot of cats who'll push you to the bottom. Be the best. You have to. Or I'll do it for you. And it won't be fun." He spat on the snow close to my tiny paws, turned, and began walking to the warriors' den. As I began to head to the nursery, I saw a golden-orange face stare after Thistleclaw in shock from the Highrock. Sunstar had seen him.

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I woke the next morning feeling very tired. Well, of course. I'd been up past my bedtime. Stunningly, though, it was almost sunset. I didn't care. Smacking my lips and trying to go back to sleep, I was surprised when Darkkit and Redkit bounced all over me. "Hey!" I meowed. "What was that for?"

"We gotta go see!" Redkit exclaimed. "Bluepaw's warrior ceremony is _today!_" Instantly I was up and trying to scramble outside.

"Watch it!" snapped Goldenkit as she pushed through the mob of tom-kits to get outside.

"Sorry," I meowed as I sat underneath the Highrock. We'd made it just in time—Sunstar was beginning to speak, and Bluepaw was sitting before him proudly, with her head held high.

"I, Sunstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." He sighed, looking gently down upon her. "Bluepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Bluepaw didn't hesitate. "I do." I imagined saying those same words.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Bluepaw, from this moment you will be known as Bluefur. StarClan honors your bravery and dedication, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He stepped forward and rested his muzzle on the new warrior's head. She licked his shoulder.

"Bluefur! Bluefur! Bluefur! Bluefur!" chanted the Clan. I raised my squeaky voice to join in the cheering.

"In the tradition of our ancestors," Sunstar began, silencing our yowls, "Bluefur must sit in silent vigil until dawn, and guard the camp alone while we sleep." With a nod, she stepped away and settled in the center of camp.

"We have to go to bed now," Darkkit said with a sigh.

"What?!" I exclaimed in horror. "I just woke up."

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I poked my head out of the nursery, watching the chattering procession head out of camp to go to the Gathering. Bluefur, I noticed, had lifted her head, chin high, as she left, probably because she'd be announced as a warrior. Lionkit bounded up to me. "Aren't you excited? One moon till you're an apprentice. Two moons for me," he added, sighing.

"Yes," I meowed. "I can't wait. I mean, hunting, fighting…it looks like fun!" Speckletail gave me a withering stare. "And," I mewed, "it'll be good to protect my Clan."

Speckletail nodded and began washing Goldenkit, who as a she-kit, didn't protest. My mother grabbed me in her paws before I could run and rasped her tongue over my ears also. "Hey!" I yowled. "I don't want a washing!"

"Well, you need one," said my mother, continuing to wash me.

Lionkit, Redkit, and Darkkit just gave a _mrrow _of laughter, but I smiled as their mothers snatched them up and began the licking attack.

"Okay, Tigerkit," my mother said finally, releasing me. "Come along, Speckletail. We'd better watch them—they've pretty much got the camp to themselves." With a cry of joy, I and my friends darted outside into the empty camp. Gatherings were always, _always _the best times to play outside. There were no warriors or apprentices to block us from enough room.

"Okay, who's _it_?" Goldenkit called. Everyone pointed their tails at Darkkit. We'd all had more turns as _it _than him.

"Aww," sighed Darkkit, then covered his eyes with his paws. "Go hide!" We all rushed to find a good spot. I jumped into the fresh-kill pile. Speckletail shook her head, as if to scold me, but she didn't want to ruin my fun.

"Time's up," he yowled, standing up with his eyes closed. He opened his mouth and started to follow a scent. Looking over, I could see that he was padding toward Redkit. The tortoiseshell tom was frozen in horror. A moment later, Goldenkit rushed by in a blur, confusing Darkkit.

"What the…" he meowed, puzzled. Catching my scent, he started heading toward me. I lifted my tail and flicked it. The kits around me, even ones that weren't really my friends, nodded. With a shriek, I flew out of the fresh-kill pile and landed on Darkkit's back. "Hey!" he snapped. "That isn't fair."

"He didn't say it was," giggled Lionkit. "It looked like fun, though." In a moment we were jumping all over each other.

"Okay, okay," said my mother, pulling Redkit and Darkkit apart. "That's enough. Don't hurt each other."

"We _weren't,_" I protested. "It's fun." Speckletail rolled her eyes.

"I think it's time for a few kits to go to sleep," she meowed, gathering Goldenkit and Lionkit. "It's getting late, and you're too young to stay up much later."

"Aww!" we chorused.

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**Okay, that was pretty much a filler chapter…but oh well. The next chapter is going to be much more interesting, trust me.**


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